Survival 101 (The Patient in the Basement)

Survival 101 – The Patient in the Basement
March 4th 2006
Blog Entry 1

The next step in training that Ryan was hoping to accomplish was to head off into the woods for a week in wolf form only. It would be a tribute to Muraco, Luna's Avatars Totem, since many oats were broken with Killy and Mike's departure after the S.W.A.T. team attack, among other things.

Although Mike had disappeared once more while the pack and Alice gathered, there was little worry for that moment. Mike had a tendency to disappear, either to vent off or for his own privacy. That was, if he had not been called by Max once more. Mike was always extremely stubborn, and even if, after his last adventures, he had ended up nearly dead - either by Nathan Wolfe's hand or by a few malicious Pures - he would go off on his own again without listening to the advice of the younger and less experienced pack members.

Another point was then raised by Damien: he still had a patient to take care of: Nick. Nick was still in a heavy coma, recovering from an unknown but nearly deadly attack. Ryan remained determined to go into the woods, thus many solutions were given. Alice and Damien believed it would be easier to take Nick along, carrying him and looking over him during the trip, but it also proved to be tricky and dangerous for the pack, and Nick himself. Miguel, on the other hand, seemed to believe that putting Nick out of his misery right now was the best way to go. Leaving Nick to their neighbour pack, New Hope, was also another solution. Leaving him alone was out of the question. Unless he woke up, there seemed to be no satisfying solution to this... And it clicked; waking him up. They had to find a way to wake Nick up. Damien inquired that an adrenaline shot to the heart might have his nerves pump up enough to force him awake. He could very well end up a vegetable, but then again, waking up from a long coma could have the same effects. Ryan agreed for this to be the best solution, and sent Miguel and Alice, the two Irrakas, on the run to get the needed shots.

In the middle of the night, it was not very hard to find an ambulance parked near a 24 hours convenience store or donut shop. Though there was little communication between Alice and Miguel, it seemed they knew their roles already. Alice walked up to the driver's window, knocked, and went about her seduction on both ambulance workers. Though confused by the appearance of a beautiful woman at this time of the night, they welcomed it and let her sit between them while Miguel, in the back, worked around trying to find the adrenaline shot Damien had described him. An incoming call came in, some code Alice knew nothing about, but the agitation from both men told her it was an urgent call. She tried to hold them up a moment longer, but they were determined to go, and even as she asked to come along, they let her know it would not be very professional. Reluctant, she left the ambulance with two phone numbers in her hands. She watched the ambulance depart, leaving Miguel to close his cell phone with an amused grin. Realizing he had been the one to make the call, she couldn't help to return the grin, though admitted being disappointed they had to let those two men go so quickly, to which Miguel replied she had had enough fun for one night. Alice couldn’t help giving him that malicious look and inquiring he was being jealous, which of course, he denied.

Upon returning home, Damien set the necessary accessories ready. There was no guaranty it was going to work at all, but at least there was a glimmer of hope. The large needle was struck into Nick's heart. There was little to no reaction at first, until his nerves and muscles tensed, his eyes even opened, but he dropped back with his nerves twitching. Eventually, his heartbeat gained a more natural pace, but it was obvious that forcing him back to consciousness would accelerate the healing factor.

Alice spent a great deal of time by his side, waiting for him to wake up for real. Though she did her best to hide her relief when he finally opened his eyes, she couldn't help but show compassion and care for him. When Nick finally came back to his senses, he was panicked at first, being in an unknown environment. To him, a few minutes had passed since he had been attacked, unlike the few weeks he had been in a comatose state in the basement of the house. Miguel was also there with a witty comment to make when Nick opened his eyes. Alice ordered him to get Damien when Nick let them know how his body felt on fire, and for once, at the very least, Miguel seemed to take her seriously and spent no time fetching the large man.

Unfortunately for Luna's Avatars, the pack learned little to nothing new about the situation and how Nick had ended up with his arm torn right off. Apparently, one of the street gang members, Jim, had complained earlier about an old lady and how she had scared him. Nick remembered how the men had laughed, but the joke soon died when Jim just never returned. Nick also remembered being followed, and as his senses turned high, he did what he could to escape... something. Something got the attention of whatever had chased him, and he managed to hide in his home, but just barely. Then everything turned to a blur, and a few weeks later, he had woken up to Alice stroking his hair in the basement of Luna's Avatars home.

Nick recovered fast once he was awakened. His arm had yet to grow back fully, and unfortunately for the Cahalith, he was not going to be able to draw much for a while. Nevertheless, he was glad to be alive. After a few days or so of watching over him, Damien found he was good to go and definitely out of danger. Alice took this time, thinking she and Damien were alone - and having forgotten how Miguel had sworn to follow her and keep an eye on her wherever she went - to thank him for what he had done for Nick and in a sense, for her. She gave Damien a quick peck on the cheek, not realising Miguel was having the fun of his life taking a picture of the scene with his cell phone.

In the end, Nick thanked the pack sincerely for helping him and taking care of him, though embarrassed to have been such a burden for so long. Miguel offered him his old trench coat so he could hide his missing arm, while Damien offered him a rabbit, and finally, Alice unhooked the necklace she held dearly onto and clipped it to Nick's good wrist to wish him good luck. He refused to go back to his home, even pondered leaving town, but Alice offered her motel room until he would find a more suitable place.

She stayed with him for a while, letting him know how things were going between her and Luna's Avatars. She never mentioned her ordeals with Miguel or anything too bad. She did not want to worry him, especially since he had been the one to point her in that pack's direction. He smiled and listened, happy to know she had considered the option. Before reaching the motel, Nick looked her in the eyes with that same kind smile, "Look what they did for me and I'm not even part of the pack. Just imagine how they can treat their packmates." Alice lowered her gaze at this comment, but said no more.

Finally, she left him to rest...

To be continued...